Swords
Swords in GURPS are covered by various skills and have various types. However, due to the variations in swords and influence from D&D there is a kind of disconnect between the terms used in the game and what existed in the real world. Terms *Shortsword: historically this can include knives in the 12 to 24 inches range but GURPS limits knives to 12 inches or shorter. *Arming Sword: the classic one handed sword used by knights and man at arms. Generally 28 to 31 inches in length. *Bastard Sword: Arguably the hardest term to pin down. It originally meant "irregular sword or sword of uncertain origin" and could apply to a one handed sword with a fairly longer blade then "normal". In the early 20th century it came to mean a "hand and a half sword" and was applied to a straight bladed sword from 1490s with a blade length averaging around 40 inches. The term seems to come from the fact the sword had "no legitimate claim to being classified as either a single-handed or two-handed weapon".Evangelista, Nick (1995) The Encyclopedia of the Sword Greenwood Publishing Group pg 48 *Longsword: a two handed sword generally in the 33 to 43 inches range and weighing between 2 to 3 pounds. *Great Sword: Another problematic term as there a some great swords that would fit into the Longsword category. Shad of Shadiversity fame gives three quick an dirty criteria to separate the two.When a Longsword becomes a Greatsword :#The sword must be drawable from a hip sheath to not be a great sword. :#The length of the blade has to be short enough that with a firm one handed grip on the handle one can use the other to grab someone and "due stabby things" to them. If not it is a great sword. :#Hold the sword in a standard stance (lower hand about chest high) and move the sword down without moving the vertical position of the hand. If it hits the ground then it is a great sword. ::The fight style for a "true" Great sword is more along the lines of the polearm or quarterstaff. Additional Information Regarding Bastard Sword - "Qui n'était ni Française, ni Espagnole, ni proprement Lansquenette, mais plus longue que ces fortes épées." (sword which was neither French, nor Spanish, nor properly Landsknecht German, but longer than any of these sturdy swords.")Oeuvres - François Rabelais (écrivain), César de Missy, Jacob Le Duchat, Louis-Fabricius Dubourg, Bernard Picart, Pieter Tanjé, Balthasar Bernaerts, Jacob Folkema. p. 129. "Bastard Sword": "also known as the hand and a half sword, the bastard sword was a long, straight-bladed weapon dating from 1490, with a plain cross guard, long grip, and rounded pommel. Blades averages forty inches in length, but some were as long as fifty inches." This works to 4.17 to 5 feet long. "The term bastard undoubtedly comes from the fact that the sword has, because of its design, no legitimate claim to being classified as either a single-handed or two-handed weapon" (Charles Henry Ashdown (1967) European Arms & Armor; George Cameron Stone (1961) A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: in All Countries and in All Times, reprinted as part of the Dover Military History, Weapons, Armor series in 1999) Evangelista, Nick, (1995) The Encyclopedia of the Sword Greenwood Publishing Group (now part of ABC-CLIO) pg 48 Long Sword "The long sword was of the two handed variety. It was invariable a cutting weapon and was always, because of its length and weight used on foot. Blades of these weapons often reached five feet and more in length. The long sword family includes the claymore, the spandon, the espadon, the zweyhander, and the flamberge" (Egerton Castle (1885) Schools and Masters of Fence: From the Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Century)Evangelista, Nick, (1995) The Encyclopedia of the Sword Greenwood Publishing Group (now part of ABC-CLIO) pg 364 References *SWORD names / classification / terminology (Shadiversity) *Classification of swords (Wikipedia) Category:Weapons